Marco Benevento at the Sinclair, 4/07

It was the night of April 7th and Cambridge was mostly quiet, but those who found themselves at the Sinclair on that Thursday evening had the chance to party with a musical mastermind: Marco Benevento. Marco is quite the accomplished musician, although he would never boast about it; he studied at the Berklee College of Music right here in Boston and has released upwards of fifteen albums throughout his long career. Marco’s style is hard to capture, but his sound and musical philosophies are surely influenced by his favorite rock, jazz, and soul artists. He also loves to collaborate and, not surprisingly, you can often find him touring with his band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, perhaps the highest regarded Grateful Dead cover band in the modern day and an incredible jam band on its own.

Marco’s current band, the one that rocked the Sinclair, consists of Karina Rykman and Dave Butler, also known as DB. The personnel of the band were fairly fluid until this line-up got together, but through mutual friends, common interest, and happenstance, these three came together about six years ago and have been together since. Interestingly, the first show that Marco ever played with Karina was at the Sinclair, and, at the same place six years later, the room tingled with celebratory energy.

Those in attendance on April 7th were blessed with an intimate show in a small venue, one that surely would have been packed shoulder to shoulder before the pandemic. In our interview, Marco said that despite the shows on the current tour selling out, a lot of the venues don’t end up filled. He attributed this to several things, including reduced venue capacity and a hesitancy from people to attend the concert even if they bought a ticket well in advance. Responding to his smaller audience, Marco crafted a much more intimate vibe at the show, talking and listening to the people who came to see him. At one point, he told us the story of the jacket he was wearing, and that his wife had made it for him. Later he asked someone to come closer to the stage so he could read his shirt, then complimented it on the spot. The shirt, clearly made to order, read “I love Marco’s Solos.” Marco was visibly touched, and his availability to the audience throughout the night made the concert a particularly special experience for all his fans in attendance.

The music was engaging, with each song being played to its fullest extent. Marco, Karina, and DB all listened intently, exploring where they could take each story, and peaking with incredible moments of musical release. The music was also fun, and the musicians on stage were having just as much fun as all the members of the audience dancing along. Marco got the chance to play some of the songs off his new album, Benevento, which will be released on June 10th, including “At the End or The Beginning.” The music video for that song can be found here. The album will be available on streaming platforms and is available for preorder on his website: https://marcobenevento.com.

Having spent his quarantine days recording this album in his home studio, Marco is understandably excited about its upcoming release. His first entirely solo release, and very much in line with the themes of isolation, Marco is the only musician on the album and did all of the mixing himself. (Although he did admit to finding a little help in his wife and kids.) In terms of writing, he described his creative process as a balance between experiment and choice, relying on both improvisation as well as structure to put together a song. Marco, with a cup of coffee in his hand, told me he loved to head to his studio in the morning with some morning brew and play whatever was on his mind. Remembering all the melodies and progression he particularly liked, Marco would puzzle piece songs together to tell the story he wanted to. His live playing is remarkably similar to this, and you can see the same process of experimentation and repetition happen within a single song.

At the Sinclair, Marco seemed to feel just as at-home as in his own studio, and the show was a true window into his musical mind, at least as a performer. Just as comfortable on stage were his bandmates. Both Karina and DB raised the level of musical intensity, depth, and variety, and brought their own personalities to the music. Karina held it down and shredded on her bass like it was an electric guitar while DB laid a cool, clean, everchanging beat to hold it all together. The band worked as one unit, sharing looks and cues to communicate their musical ideas as well as simply enjoy the experience of playing together. Marco emphasized how much he loved this band’s chemistry, and how important it is to not only get along with, but to really like your bandmates. He remarked that because you spend so much time with these people on tour, you had better like them, and Marco’s band makes it quite clear that they enjoy each other’s company. Not only did they share the stage, but they shared the musical space, and each member had the opportunity to shine with their own solos on top of the more collective jams. During one of DB’s solos, Karina and Marco joined him behind the drum kit, laughing and smiling as they briefly created a three-person percussion section.

The whole night was full of happiness. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there, and everyone was grateful that they even could be there. Marco, Karina, and DB grooved alongside the audience and gave all their energy to putting on an engaging show– and that, they did. Marco, a live musician through and through, is going to be on tour all summer. He is particularly excited about hosting his own festival, Follow the Arrow, in Accord, NY on June 18th. In the Fall, Marco returns to the Boston area for two shows on September 9th and 10th at Soundstage Studios in Pembroke, MA. I hope to catch you there. 

(Thank you to Marco Benevento for taking the time to speak with me, and to Kevin Calabro of Calabro Music Media for organizing the interview.)